Archive for 2015

Feminine, attractive and never out of fashion; Pinot Noir is the LBD of the wine world. They vary of course: lean and tight, full bodied, well structured or light and floaty but one thing you can be sure of is that once you find one that you like they are with you for life. There are ones for every purse from designer to high street, the prices can vary as much as the styles which is why when you find one that’s affordable and makes you feel fabulous you know you have no choice but to snap it up or regret it forever.

Mothers Milk: a curious name for a wine, one that conjures images of late night sessions, a soothing nature and the propensity to be difficult to wean oneself off from. With Baby Bouquet ‪#2 now on the way it, understandably, caught my eye more than most.

The playful label of this Shiraz and down to earth winemaking philosophy of Aussie winemakers and mates Matt ‘Gantos’ Gant and John ‘JR’ Retsas results in a warming drop of spiced black cherry and blueberry tastiness with a nod to the eucalyptus tree and tannins as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Comfort in a glass…. One I hope in a few months time will not become this mother’s ruin!

Headlines take many different forms in the drinks trade; there are the attention grabbers “strap on booze baby seeks funding,” the David & Goliath tales of “Champagne Jayne” and the softer, sweeter entrepreneur success stories of the likes of The New Zealand Cellar but the ones that catch my attention the most centre around the wine trade’s ability to shoot itself in the foot..
Take Beaujolais for example. Once the envy of wine regions around the world for its Beaujolais Nouveau marketing masterpiece it is now the underdog of the trade, fallen out of favour with the wine drinking fraternities the mere mention of it’s sorry existence is whispered these days with a pitying tone.

We’ve done it. We’ve traded London and our beautiful little terrace house for more space, fresher air and a longer commute… We’ve moved into ‘project renovation’ where the to do list is longer than our driveway but there is light at the end of the tunnel: our kitchen, which makes Rachel Khoo’s Little Paris Kitchen look lavishly equipped will be redesigned, knocked down, and rebuilt which means I can create a space perfect to host a wine fridge of serious proportions.

In the mean time however we are here in Surrey like fish out of water, the area is missing a decent pub and a decent wine bar; forget our house I can feel a village renovation of the wine sorts is needed as well. I’m yet to find out whether people here are wine drinkers. Are they classic connoisseurs or plump for plonk sort of folk, would they embrace the new or stick to their safety wines? And would the sense of wine adventure I was used to in London be a distant memory here or could I take a bottle of Turkish wine to a neighbour’s house and be welcomed back or never invited again? ………

It can be a blessing and a curse for a wine country to gain mass popularity for one style of wine. Like an actor famous for their hilarious performances that dares to lead in a drama, they will be judged all the harder for trying to break the mould.

Italy is one such wine country; think Chianti, Pinot Grigio and now Prosecco. It has reinvented itself successfully several times but rarely succeeded in commanding top shelf pricing for what become commodity wines. The trouble with Prosecco, their most recent hit, is that it has become so successful it has changed the dynamics of the entire sparkling wine category: it has taught us all that bubbles are now affordable and paying much more than a tenner for those from Italy is not really necessary.

The Drinks Business has reported data that shows when we buy Australian wine we gravitate stylistically to their extremes, preferring either their lightest or their heaviest vinos. An out dated presumption of Australian wines was once of heavy and unrefined styles so it’s refreshing to see this opinion is evolving and in view of the research makes me think this should be good news for the wine lovers favourite: Hunter Valley Semillon.

This mysterious grape has been grown in Australia’s oldest wine region for years but has remained an enthusiast’s choice or secret. It’s unique in the way that it caters for both ends of the wine drinkers spectrum being crisp, zesty, mouthwatering and thirst quenching in its youth and evolving into a rich, full bodied, winter warming white by its teens.